How Meliá Resorts Worldwide scales influencer advertising by sharing greatest observe and tailoring its influencer strategy to suit every model.
Traackr has partnered with Scott Guthrie for the next interview, as a part of our new international sequence “Influencer Advertising at Scale”.
Listed on the inventory change (A part of the IBEX 35 index) and nonetheless family-run Meliá Resorts Worldwide is without doubt one of the largest resort firms on this planet.
This home of manufacturers operates over 90,000 rooms throughout 377 accommodations worldwide below its seven manufacturers: Gran Meliá Resorts & Resorts, Paradisus Resorts, ME by Meliá, Meliá Resorts & Resorts, Innside by Meliá, Sol Resorts & Resorts and TRYP by Wyndham. Its portfolio is complemented by its worldwide shared trip membership Meliá Membership.
I spoke with Santiago Garcia Solimei, International Director of Social Media, Meliá Resorts Worldwide to raised perceive how this resort and metropolis resort operator works with influencers globally at an enterprise stage.
The interview explores how the agency has constructed an influencer system strong sufficient to optimize investments, enhance efficiencies, adjust to rules and share greatest observe throughout 43 nations on 4 continents. On the similar time, it is a system sufficiently versatile to adapt its strategy to satisfy the differing wants of its seven model identities.
[SG] What drives Meliá Resorts Worldwide to make use of influencer advertising?
[SGS] About 11% of visitors to our reserving web site Melia.com comes from social. An increasing number of persons are reaching out to social media channels to find new accommodations and to find locations.
So not solely will we should be current on social, however we should be current with actually good content material and the best way to make sure we now have wonderful and diverse content material is thru influencer advertising.
We used to function a company-wide PR and social media technique that was properly established by model and area however lacked a system strategy and particular methodology to influencer advertising.
In January 2017, we made the swap to a system-based strategy. The transfer was a response to the growing variety of influencer requests being obtained on the resort, regional and international ranges, plus the period of time wanted to judge, contemplate and reply to all these requests.
Our systematic strategy, pushed by Traackr, has given us the advantage of a constant technique to establish, validate, reply and report on influencer associated proposals.
[SG] Are you able to give me an thought of the size of influencers Meliá Resorts Worldwide works with?
[SGS] We categorise influencers at three levels: recognized, engaged and advocates. We solely maintain related influencers in our Traackr database. Up to now we now have recognized 896 related influencers. This provides you an thought of the scale we’re speaking about. Of these 896 influencers, 150 are engaged. Which means they’re doing one thing with us. An additional 75 we classify as advocates.
Total a couple of third of our influencers are related to the ME by Meliá model. However, yearly every one in every of our seven manufacturers runs a worldwide marketing campaign which comprises an influencer advertising part.
[SG] How does Meliá Resorts Worldwide establish essentially the most acceptable influencers to work with for every model?
[SGS] The model advertising division creates a persona of an excellent influencer for every model. These profiles cowl the perfect pursuits, age, and traits that these folks comply with, together with model configurations, and attain. Now we have a really clearly spec’d out map of what an influencer ought to be for every of our manufacturers.
It’s actually vital for us that we don’t share influencers throughout totally different manufacturers. Every model has its personal particular targets and profiles.
We have interaction with influencers on an unique foundation. We glance very rigorously on the values of that influencer and our model, the message the influencer is portraying to his or her viewers; what kind of viewers it’s and the place they’re positioned.
We actually need genuine content material which amplifies the entire incredible tales we now have in every of our properties. We’re transitioning our strategy in the direction of having much more tradition and art-based influencer engagement.
[SG] Which group inside Meliá Resorts Worldwide ‘owns’ influencer advertising’?
[SGS] The International Social Media division is chargeable for the influencer advertising imaginative and prescient, technique and program, plus the best way it’s applied by the areas and accommodations.
Now we have created a strategy known as the MHI Influencer Greatest Observe Information. PR and social media companies have interaction with influencers based mostly on our methodology. They use Traackr because the influencer database and reporting framework.
RELATED: A Blueprint for Scaling Enterprise Influencer Advertising
We devise the framework technique centrally. We then current this technique to our PR companies, social media companies and accommodations worldwide. Given our geographical unfold we depend on PR companies and social media companies – our specialised sources – to conduct native coaching with accommodations. They take the technique right down to a property stage. So for instance, if a basic supervisor obtained a request from an influencer, he’ll know what to do and who to contact. This whole workflow is included in our Influencer Information.
[SG] How does Meliá Resorts Worldwide allocate sources to its influencer applications?
[SGS] Now we have a central influencer funds allotted to every model that covers journey, internet hosting and associated bills. As a part of our international campaigns, there’s additionally a funds for influencer marketing-related actions particular to every marketing campaign.
We wish to have interaction with influencers who totally join with our manufacturers at an emotional stage so we invite them to an unforgettable resort expertise the place all bills are lined. We solely pay for the influencer participation on particular ad-hoc actions (for instance for DJing, artwork interventions, or Ted Talks). We imagine this strategy will end in more practical and genuine content material in addition to a long-term relationship of name advocacy.
[SG] How do you measure the success of your influencer advertising?
A part of proving the ROI of social is through a data-driven strategy. By means of Traackr, we’re capable of generate a report of each related influencer marketing campaign. Throughout the report, we will see the entire protection generated plus the mentions and interactions. We are able to see which content material has labored greatest for us on every social community and by particular influencers.
We’re additionally placing collectively inside enterprise instances which present outcomes on all of the totally different campaigns. Globally, about 11% of visitors to our reserving web site Melia.com comes from social. In some nations, social media drives 15% of visitors to the reserving web site. By means of enterprise instances and studies we present our accommodations’ basic managers how a lot protection has been generated and the way a lot traction was achieved.
[SG] What boundaries should be overcome to successfully scale influencer advertising inside an enterprise and the way do you overcome them?
[SGS] The principle boundaries are taking the technique to all markets, on all 4 of the continents that we function. Every market has its personal particular guidelines, regulation and totally different digital behaviours.
We’re grouped by areas. Every area has its personal annual convention. Social media all the time has a slot at these conferences. So at the least every year, we now have the chance to get in entrance of the overall managers of any explicit area and actually give them an replace on traits, technique, and totally different initiatives. Then the overall supervisor is chargeable for passing on the knowledge to their group.
Face-to-face information sharing is augmented with on-line coaching and a social media ambassador scheme. There are additionally bootcamps and there is a firm on-line portal the place workers can share their concepts with their friends.
Offering up to date coaching is a problem given how rapidly social media is evolving. So, we’re wanting into offering full on-line coaching which covers our influencer advertising methodology.
[SG] What influencer advertising activation are you particularly pleased with?
2017 marked the tenth anniversary of ME By Meliá. To commemorate this landmark we devised an always-on, year-long international marketing campaign throughout all of the ME by Meliá accommodations and markets. Our goal was to coach audiences in regards to the model and to rejoice the primary decade in a means that mirrored the ME vibe. We held occasions at ME Miami, ME Madrid, ME London, ME Mallorca, ME Ibiza, ME Cabo and ME Milan. These occasions drove visitors to the model channels and net content material hub the place all event-related content material is hosted.
Marketing campaign outcomes for the ten Years of Me had been phenomenal on social media. Content material created from the Milan occasion, for instance, generated a 30% engagement price. For that occasion held final December we mixed the glamour and exclusivity of ME by Meliá with the distinctive values of Milan: Vogue, design and gastronomy.
Influencers got make-up and hairstyling make-overs by specialist stylists. They had been then provided branded equipment to finish their new look.
We additionally showcased town’s structure and gastronomy legacy earlier than internet hosting a celebration on our rooftop bar giving influencers the proper alternative to take and publish footage of the solar setting behind the Milan skyline.
The marketing campaign was successful. The hashtag #10YearsofME was used 1,346 occasions all year long on Instagram. It generated 1.36M likes and feedback on the platform. In complete we achieved 3.5M content material engagements on all promoted posts.
About Scott Guthrie
Scott is an impartial influencer advertising advisor. Earlier roles embrace overseeing influencer relations at main company, Ketchum, and serving because the newswire product supervisor, EMEA at PR Newswire. Comply with him on Twitter. Learn his influencer advertising weblog, or watch “My Influencer Advertising Philosophy”.
